


Duty Nothing More

by priama



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21818452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/priama/pseuds/priama
Summary: Grahnye does not like Nordion. But she does a good job at pretending she does.
Relationships: Eldigan & Quan, Grahnye & Lachesis
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	Duty Nothing More

Grahnye does not like Nordion. Or Agustria for that matter. But she does a good job at pretending she does.

It’s been six months since her father announced her marriage to Liege Lord of House Nordion, a match orchestrated by her cousin Prince Quan. It’s been five months since she packed her belongings and moved across the continent. Five months since Lord Eldigan Nordion took her to wife and five months since she birthed his son and heir.

And still, Grahnye cannot bring herself to get adjusted to her new home.

“Good sister, look!”

Lachesis tugs at her arm.

Her sister in law is one of the people in this strange country whom Grahnye cannot grow fond of. The younger woman is impulsive to the point of being obstinate and sharp tongued to the point of being insolent. At first, Grahnye told herself that this woman is young and therefore she acts like she does. With no mother to guide her since her girlhood, Lachesis would need to learn how to be a lady as she grew older and Grahnye had promised herself that she would tutor her. She’d be a sister to the Lady Nordion.

But days and months passed and Lachesis grew bolder and more willful, impossible to control and reason with. The women were more different than the sun and the moon with a chasm of differences between them, impossible to reconcile. And ever since the _rumors_ reached her ears…

“There is no need to tear at my sleeves, my lady.” Grahnye says, untangling herself from the younger woman’s grasp as gracefully as she can. Her eyes travel to where her good sister is pointing at.

Her lord husband and her cousin Quan are talking by the veranda above them, too absorbed in their exchange to notice the women below them. _“That’s right… Quan is visiting from Leonster.”_

Her cousin has a smile plastered on his face and gesticulates enthusiastically as he speaks. Her lord husband stands straight as a lance and a quirk of his lips tug to the sides as he listens. Their voices (or Quan’s at least) bounce on the pillars and greenery of the castle’s gardens in muffled stride, which would take great concentration to be able to listen to what they are saying.

Lachesis tugs at her again.

“They truly look content, don’t they? It’s as if they haven’t seen each other in years, though it’s only been five months.”

Then she winks.

“Let us listen to what they’re saying.”

Grahnye frowns in return.

“My lady! Eavesdropping is such a boorish act!”

“Oh good sister please!” Lachesis giggles with a roll of her eyes, either too thick to understand she’s being scolded or too self-absorbed to care “It does no harm! Come.”

Before Grahnye can protest again, Lachesis is already dragging her to a pillar at the base of the veranda, where they’re partially covered by the shrubbery enough to not be seen from above but to be able to spy from below. Grahnye grits her teeth and grasps her skirts to facilitate matching her sister in law’s steps.

Lachesis stifles a giggle as both women listen to the conversation above.

“-Ethlyn stayed home. Otherwise, they would have come. A shame, to be frank. I would have loved for Altena to meet Ares.”

“It’s not as if they would remember each other by meeting so young though. They have all the time in the world to do so.”

Quan smiled “True. Still, it would have been a lovely story to tell them when they grow up.”

Grahnye turns her eyes to Lachesis. The younger woman has her arms around the pillar, balanced on base of the column, as if trying to get closer to the men above them. Her position makes Grahnye self-conscious of her own posture, so she straightens herself, smoothing her skirt before resting her hands at her lap. She would not conduct like her sister in law.

“Did you hear of Sigurd’s latest feat?”

“You mean of him breaking his engagement as soon as he heard of it? Hard not to. The news spread like wildfire.”

“Ethlyn wrote him a stern letter, saying she supported his decision but scolding him for his tactlessness.”

“That’s Sigurd for you. The man is extreme, even with well-meaning intentions.”

“Ha! It’s true. At this rate, it would be up to us to find him a wife.”

Quan laughs and Lachesis rolls her eyes, half smiling. Grahnye suppresses a sigh. Who ever said men didn’t gossip? Cousin Quan was constantly doing it and took such joy in it one would think he was raised by kitchen maids. However, it surprises her that her reserved and serious lord husband would partake in it as well. Perhaps it was because he was with one of his closest friends.

“Speaking of wives, how are you getting on with yours?”

Lachesis shakes her by shoulder and Grahnye plants her feet on the ground, eyes gazing upwards.

Quan has a cheeky smile on his face, elbow nudging her lord husband on his waist. The latter gazes at his friend sideways.

“She is a good and intelligent woman. Since her arrival, things in the castle have run smoothly.” Her lord husband replies. To Grahnye, his voice sounded sincere and grateful.

Quan’s smile seemed to get bigger, reminding her of a giddy maiden “And both of you already had a child! I wouldn’t have thought of it to happen so fast.”

At this point Grahnye feels suddenly uncomfortable. She made to grasp her skirt and leave Lachesis behind, yet what came next, pinned her down.

“Yes… Mystletainn needed an heir.”

Her eyes turn upwards once again.

“Yes, yes, you and your duty but you love her right?” Quan’s voice was smiling.

_“Leave now. You already eavesdropped enough even after scolding your sister in law. This is not ladylike behavior. You have better things to do. Go to your son.”_

“Quan- she’s my wife.”

“I know she’s your wife, but do you love her Eldigan?”

Lachesis looks as giddy as her cousin, smiling ear to ear and her eyes twinkling. Grahnye suppresses the sudden urge to slap her.

She had wasted enough time listening to these trivialities. She was not a girl anymore and her son needed her. And anyway, it was such a stupid question to ask her lord husband. Did her cousin not know his old friend as well as he thought? Why waste his time with these inquiries? Grahnye clasped her hands at her lap.

“…I do not.”

Lachesis’ smile falls from her face and her eyes go wide. She hops down from her spot, hands over her mouth, her gaze darting from the men on the veranda to her good sister. Grahnye stands impassively, her expression calm.

The mirth in Quan’s voice dies down. “Oh.”

“Please, don’t misunderstand me, I appreciate her nature very much –and she’s the mother of my son and heir- but…”

Grahnye gathers her skirts and walks away, allowing the voices to become distant.

-

“Sister! Sister wait!” Lachesis calls after her, trotting behind her until she catches up to her and grasps her hand, forcing Grahnye to turn to face her.

“I’m,” Lachesis’ lip quivers. “I’m so sorry, good sister. I should not have dragged you into this- I thought-“

“Thought what, my lady?” Grahnye’s voice is polite and formal, though the sudden physical contact makes her want to recoil.

Lachesis bites her lip, hey eyes downcast and looking apologetic. Had Grahnye not been a civil woman, she would have scoffed.

“I thought…” the younger woman’s voice seemed to break “I thought Eldie would feel the opposite- I thought he would marry only out of love and when he did I thought it was because he finally… I’m so sorry good sister I should have never made you listen!”

Grahnye shrugs “I knew.”

“You did?”

The surprised look on Lachesis’ face is irritatingly laughable. Grahnye sighs.

“I knew my lord husband needed an heir to inherit his sword and castle. He told me so himself the day we met. By marrying me, not only does he produce a major blooded heir but also strengthens diplomatic alliances with Leonster. I knew all of this when our marriage was arranged. Like him, I just fulfilled my duty as a noblewoman.”

“Then why did you walk off suddenly?”

Grahnye jerks her hand from Lachesis’ grasp almost violently and meets her eyes with an impassive stare.

“Because eavesdropping is a boorish act and I have stayed away from my son for too long. Have a good rest of the day, my lady.”

With that, she gathers her skirts once more, leaving her sister in law behind.

-

She is out of breath by the time she reaches the nursery. Dismissing the servants, she walks to her son’s cradle and looks at the bundle that stares back at her and smiles.

She picks up her babe in her arms, his chubby hand grasping firmly at her collar.

_“Golden eyes and golden hair like his lord father… but he has my nose.”_

She kisses Ares’ cheek, breathing in his sweet scent until he giggles.

Grahnye does not like Nordion. She can’t stand her sister in law and her lord husband does not love her. She tells herself it is fine. She still runs the castle and, most importantly, she loves her son and would do everything in her power for him to love her back. That was all she needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, hello. First published fic in a decade. English is not my first language.
> 
> I headcanon Grahnye being Quan's cousin (King Calf's niece), thus having minor Njorun blood. Since Quan's FEH quotes says he married Ethlyn thus now becoming Sigurd's brother, I imagine he also wanted Eldigan to become his brother, thus pushing a marriage between him and his cousin. Considering Eldigan needed an heir to pass down Mystletainn, he would have agreed.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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